Google Domains launches as beta service in US

Looking to get involved in yet another area of your online existence, Google today launched a beta version of Google Domains in the US. As the name suggests, this is a domain registration service that Google hopes will be used to manage websites, including Blogger blogs, within the familiar, comfortable arms of Google.

Google Domains has been up and running as a private beta for a little while, but now it has been opened up to the wider public. Although it is available for anyone in the US to sign up for, there's no clue about when the beta tag will be dropped.

If you already have a domain of your own, it can be transferred to Google, but there's also the option of signing up for a new one. There are a number of gTLDs available at the moment, including .com, .guru and .ninja, and there's the promise of more on the horizon. Anyone signing up can take advantage of up to 100 email addresses -- which can also be forwarded to a Gmail address -- and prices start from $12 per year.

Up to 100 sub-domains can be used, and the dashboard allows for advanced control of domains. For anyone unfamiliar with website building, integration with builder services such as Squarespace and Weebly helps to keep things simple. Google hasn't said when Domains will start to roll out to other parts of the world, but this is presumably on the cards for some point in the future.